It was good news Monday for the Dutch Harvest Farms events venue project. After an uncomfortable negotiation with Planning Board members on sound mitigation and a few other details the Planning Board unanimously approved the site plan review. But the Osmica project on Emmons Road faced more opposition, at a continuation of the project's public hearing Monday, by neighbors who fear their properties will be subject to stormwater flooding, light and noise pollution.

Owners Kurt Martin and Allison Trdan tried to assuage some of neighbors' concerns in a written response as well as during Monday's edition of the public hearing. Martin presented some clarifications to the site plan, and Trdan answered questions about their intentions regarding how the property will be used. She said that the couple is planning to host daytime events for the most part, at least for now.

Lansing suffered the second significant power outage in a week yesterday, when almost 5,500 customers were left without power. According to a witness, a power line on Peruville Road fell, resulting in a fire in a circuit breaker box. The outage lasted just under two hours for many customers.

"Our records show there is an interruption in your area affecting approximately 5,497 customers," a call to NYSEG yielded. "The estimated restoration is at approximately 12:15pm."

If you happened to run into a soothsayer recently who cautioned you to 'Beware the Ides of March' go home (if you're not already there), get back in bed, and hide under the covers until tomorrow. In the Shakespeare tragedy, Julius Caesar didn't heed the warning, and the next thing he knew Marcus Junius Brutus was stabbing him to death. The real Julius Caesar died on the Ides of March. He should have learned from Popeye the Sailor Man that it doesn't pay to have friends named Brutus!

It wasn't always a bad day. In ancient times, Kalends, Nones and Ides referred to dates in relation to lunar phases. 'Ides' referred to the first full moon of any particular month, usually falling around the 13th, 14th, or 15th of the month. But when Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC at the age of 55 the Ides of March became infamous.

Lansing school taxpayers can expect a budget increase of approximately 2.36% in the 2019-20 school budget. School Business Administrator Kate Heath told the Board Of Education Monday that current projections are for a 30,794,650 budget. She said that the proposed budget is $727,450 more than last year's total.

"We are deep in the budget process," said School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso. "We're looking at all of our current programs, our student population. We're looking at what we have -- things that might not be working and things that are working. And we're looking at where we would love to be and how we can get there with the resources available to us. We are coming up with recommendations to the board on how the district delivers services, and new things the schools would like to do."

School Business Administrator Kate Heath told the Lansing Board of Education Monday that district employees will be participating in a wellness challenge . Heath said she touched base with Lansing's wellness coordinator Melissa Pope to make sure Lansing will be participating.

"Dryden has thrown down the gauntlet for a walking challenge," Heath said. "They have challenged Lansing and Trumansburg in a BOCES-wide district wellness initiative that starts in April and goes into May. We will compete district to district."

As April 15th looms, New Yorkers are thinking about paying taxes. The prospect is not good. A new Wallethub analysis released Tuesday finds that New York has the 4th highest tax rates of all the United States. And in a survey also released Tuesday Americans said they are not happy about taxes. Fewer than 4 in 10 people said they are happy with President Trump’s tax reforms. 70% said they think they benefit the rich more than the middle class. 89% of people think the government currently does not spend their tax dollars wisely. 36% of people said they would move to a different country for a tax-free future. 24% said they would get an 'IRS' tattoo, 16% said they would stop talking for 6 months, and 15% said they would take a vow of celibacy if they could have a tax-free future.

News for New York taxpayers is especially grim. The state has the highest income tax rank, the 8th highest real estate tax, 16th highest sales and excise taxes, and 3rd highest overall effective state & local tax rate. New York has the 5th highest gas taxes, and is tied with Connecticut for having the highest cigarette taxes. The only good news the analysis reports is that there is no vehicle property tax in New York, which ties the state with several other states in first place.